Memories Fade, But Bonds Last Forever
by Aleria14
Summary: When there's a terrible accident and Kaoru ends up in a coma, Hikaru can't help but relive all of their past memories that they've shared together. But when Kaoru's memories fade, will things ever be the same between them again? No twincest, but lots of brotherly love.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:**

**Hi everyone! :)**

**So I haven't written fancition for a _long _time, and even when I used to it wasn't for the Ouran fandom. However, my sister and I have been completely hooked on OHHC for a while now, and the two of us both found that we have a particular interest in the twins :) So I figured, 'hey, I'm gonna write a fic about them' :D**

**But it's funny, I say this with all smiles and then injure Kaoru, my favourite character, haha ;) I'm so evil.**

**Anyway, important notes:  
**

**1. This isn't a twincest fic, so if you're looking for that, I'm sorry but you've clicked the wrong story :( but expect lots of brotherly love (of course, what else would you expect from the twins? ;))**

**2. I'm not sure if there are going to be any pairings in this fic (seriously doubting it...), but if there are it won't be 'Hikaharu.' Just sayin' ;)**

**3. DISCLAIMER: I don't own Ouran Highschool Host Club...which means that I also don't own the Hitachiin twins, sadly :'(**

**Enjoy the story!**

* * *

Hikaru hadn't said a word for three hours and twenty-two minutes.

He knew this because of the bright flashing numbers on the face of a digital clock that rested on the bedside table. Three hours and twenty-two minutes was also the amount of time that he'd been sitting stoically by his brother's side, holding his hand tensely. Apparently seeing his twin like this had put him into a state of shock, at least, that's what the doctors had told his mother when Hikaru found that he couldn't seem to form any words upon seeing Kaoru.

Hikaru's tired, bloodshot eyes flickered over to her for a moment, noting how her thin frame was sprawled out in the armchair with her head tipped back. He could hear her lightly snoring over the harsh _'Beep…beep…beep…' _of the heart rate monitor.

He quickly adjusted his line of vision back to Kaoru's sleeping form. _Wait, that wasn't the word for my brothers' condition,_ Hikaru reminded himself bitterly. The real word was _comatose._

Hikaru's grip unconsciously tightened around his brother's hand, wishing above all else that he'd feel a comforting squeeze in return. But he got nothing.

How could this have happened? Kaoru was the mature, sensible one who always managed to calm Hikaru down when his emotions got the best of him and he flew off the handle. Kaoru was the one who always put Hikaru before himself, and always seemed to understand the actions and emotions of others much more than his slightly older brother.

"So," Hikaru murmured, his voice hoarse as if it were made of sandpaper. "Why was it him? Why couldn't it have been me?"

_It should have been me._

That was his first thought when he saw his twin, his other half, lying limply in the hospital bed and hooked up to so many machines that Hikaru couldn't even begin to make sense of all of the tubes. His next thought was that he had to be dreaming; that all of this wasn't real. His baby brother couldn't possibly look so frail, with dark bruises lining his face and arms and gauze wrapped tightly around his head, making his reddish hair stick up at odd angles. This was not, and could not be, Kaoru. It just wasn't.

But it was. And Hikaru knew that this wasn't a dream.

"It should have been me," Hikaru whispered, his despair filled words falling off dry lips. "You don't deserve this. I may be the pitcher twin, but you understand things and people better than I do. Hell, you understand _me _better than I do."

Out of habit, Hikaru paused, waiting for his brother to answer, but the only response he got was that annoying, droning beeping.

"Kaoru, please wake up," he begged, the back of his parched throat burning painfully from unshed tears.

Silence.

"This isn't funny. Wake up."

Kaoru didn't even flinch, his breathing heart-wrenchingly slow and even.

Hikaru dropped Kaoru's hand and felt his fist clench forcefully, his nails digging into his palm.

"I said wake up, you idiot!" He suddenly shouted, getting to his feet so fast that his chair went clattering to the floor. His mother was startled awake by her eldest son's outburst, but Hikaru didn't notice. Right now, he couldn't see or hear anything other than the beeping and the overwhelming feeling of anger and grief.

_It should have been me._

"How could you?" He screamed, pain shooting through his broken arm, but he was too frustrated to care. "You should have just let it hit me! I would have forgiven you! It was my own stupid fault anyway, Kaoru!"

His mother came rushing over, tears spilling down her cheeks, as she placed her hands on her son's shoulders, trying to calm him down.

"You don't deserve this," he choked out, the tears finally cascading out of his green-gold eyes. He could feel his whole body shaking with sorrow and aggravation as he allowed his mother to wrap her arms him.

He buried his face into her shoulder, and closed his eyes tight.

"It should have been me."

* * *

_Yesterday evening..._

"I can't believe that you failed your foreign language test again," Kaoru scolded as he read over the failed test paper. He and his brother were currently in their limousine, heading home after a long day of school and various host club activities. "I thought you said that you were finally getting the hang of it!"

Hikaru, who was leaning back nonchalantly in the limo with his hands behind his head, suddenly shot up into a sitting position, his teeth clenched in anger.

"I _was _getting it! But the teacher gave us a passage to translate that had tons of words in it that we hadn't learnt before! I don't even think half of them were even in the study design."

Kaoru smirked, his bright eyes gleaming knowingly. He _had _received an A+ on that test after all.

"Hikaru, you're _supposed _to read the whole sentence and focus on it as a whole, not fuss over every word. It's how we're supposed to learn."

The older Hitachiin made a 'hmph' sound in the back of his throat and rolled his eyes. "But that's stupid. If the teacher wants us to _'learn' _then he should teach it to us before the test!" he tried to rationalize, his voice revealing some of that old superiority that the twins used to use when they talked about other people as kids. "See, this is why I like math. The teacher shows us how to do an equation, and then similar equations appear on the test. Easy A."

"That's easy for you to say," Kaoru muttered, looking down at the carpeted floor of the limo. "I'm still failing math."

Hikaru felt an evil smirk tug playfully at his lips. "You know, one day we should try switching places and taking each other's tests. Bet that would not only confuse and surprise the teachers, but it would also solve our problems."

Kaoru's smile suddenly mimicked his brother's, completely identical to the naked eye. 'Yeah, that would definitely be a lot of fun. Too bad that if we switched, one of us would still have to fail." Kaoru said his face falling again, but Hikaru shook his head.

"Not if one of us is "sick" and has to take the test the next day. Sure, we'd have to do the tests twice, but it would be worth it."

Kaoru laughed and wrapped an arm around his brother's shoulders, resting his head against that of his counterpart and Hikaru easily reciprocated. "We're definitely geniuses, Hikaru."

"You got that right, Kaoru," Hikaru replied with a more genuine smile as the limousine came to a stop outside their mansion on the other side of the street. The twins looked at each other, silently questioning why the limo wasn't moving into their driveway.

As if in response to their unasked question, the glass that separated the driver from the passengers rolled down, revealing one of their chauffers, Shiromu.

"I apologize, young masters, but I need to go pick up Mrs. Hitachiin now and I'm already running late. If it's not of too much inconvenience would you mind getting out here and crossing the street? If not I suppose I can drive around-"

"Na," Hikaru said offhandedly, opening the door and climbing out.

"Don't worry about it Shiromu," Kaoru added, following his twin.

"Besides, we don't want you to make mother wait," Hikaru finished, waving his hand in an 'off you go' gesture. He then turned to his brother. "Come on Kaoru, let's head inside and get to planning, shall we?"

Then he stepped out onto the road, Kaoru following. After that, everything seemed to happen too quickly for Hikaru to process.

The sound of a car going way to fast, its music blearing loudly; Kaoru's voice cracking as he shouts at his brother to move; the feel of brother's rough hands as he pushes him out of the way, followed by the feel of the tarmac smashing against his body far too quickly and a throbbing pain in his arm. He thinks he may have screamed his brother's name and seen the blood. Maybe he heard sirens wailing? He wasn't sure anymore. The point was, that when he awoke in hospital and looked fretfully around the room, Kaoru wasn't there. Later he'd learn that, at the time, the doctors were desperately sending shocks of electricity into Kaoru's chest, hoping to start up his heart again.

They succeeded, but only just, and it wasn't enough to save him from the unnatural sleep that his brain forced him into.

And it wasn't enough to save Hikaru from suddenly becoming very alone.

* * *

**So that's the first chapter! Hope you all like it, and don't worry, I'll have more coming soon. Expect the first few chapters to kind of be...introductions, I guess. The real story will begin later :)**

**Anyway, as you know, I was a bit unsure about posting this after so long, so review? I'd really appreciate it :D**

**-Bell**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hey everyone :) Not much to say really other than here's the next chapter. Hope you like it!**

* * *

Hikaru awoke to an aching pain in both his head and arm, and the sound of an obnoxiously loud clock ticking away time. A groan suddenly resounded from the back of his throat.

"Hikaru?"

His eyes forced themselves open at the sound of his name, and the blurry world slowly came into focus. He was now aware of his mother leaning over him, holding his good hand.

"How're you feeling?" she asked, concern laced heavily in her tone, making Hikaru wince.

"Pretty bad," he murmured, his own voice sounding strange to him. "What happened?"

His mother bit her lip and rose to her feet before sliding onto the edge of his bed. Still holding his left hand with hers she used the other to reach up and stroke the hair off her son's forehead, making his whole body relax into the bed.

"You started sobbing, and when you wouldn't stop, the doctors had to sedate you."

Hikaru's eyebrows knitted together in thought, his brain trying to recall the last time he had been awake. His eyes left his mother's face to the pristine white walls and the hospital decor.

Wait? Hospital. Yes, that was it. He was in the hospital and Kaoru…

"Kaoru," Hikaru demanded, trying to force himself up into a sitting position. He remembered now; he was yelling at his brother to wake up when he'd completely fallen apart.

"Where is he, mother?" he asked almost desperately as his mother did her best to push him back down without injuring her son.

"He's in the floor above us in intensive care so the doctors can watch over him more closely. Your father's up there with him." Hikaru's eyes widened and he opened his mouth but his mother shushed him. "We asked about moving the two of you to the same room, but they wanted to wait until you'd woken up and calmed down."

Hikaru tried to sit up again, succeeding this time, and bluntly ignoring how the room seemed to spin.

"Well I'm awake so let's go!" he exclaimed, swinging his legs over the side.

"Hikaru!" his mother reprimanded sternly, making him stop in his tracks. He had never seen her like this before; like if he didn't tread carefully she might break.

She was always such a vibrant woman, always in control and outspoken. But right at that moment, all traces of that strong person seemed to have washed away, leaving only a shadow of the mother he once knew. And this scared Hikaru.

"Listen to me," she whispered, tilting his head to get him to look at her. "I know this is hard on you, but it's just as hard on me too… so I need you to be patient, and do what the doctors ask, okay?" she pleaded, her eyes shining with unshed tears.

Despite the look on his mother's face, Hikaru couldn't help but feel angry at how she was treating him like a small child.

"But you just said that I could be with Kaoru when I woke up and had calmed down, so let's go already! I can't stand being in here without him, mom!" Hikaru could feel himself start to hyperventilate at the thought and his mother started to cry again as she tried to console her son.

"Okay, okay, Hikaru, we'll do it now, just calm down," she soothed wrapping her arm around his shoulders. "I'll go and speak to the doctors now and sort it out alright?"

Upon finding that his voice didn't work, he nodded and his mother left his side, heading out the door.

_Calm down, breathe, you'll be with Kaoru soon, _Hikaru told himself, ignoring the intruding thought that it was normally Kaoru that would be the only one who could help him when he was like this.

"Hikaru."

He looked up to see his mother standing in the doorway again, a frown gracing her features.

"Did you sort it out already? Can we go?" Hikaru asked eagerly, but his mother shook her head.

"Your friends are outside…apparently they've been waiting out there to see you for hours but they weren't allowed in until you woke up. Do you want me to let them in?"

His friends were here?

"Uh, yeah…alright," he mumbled, leaning back against the bed frame, still in a seated position.

To be honest the host club were the last things on his mind right now, and he didn't expect them to already know about this. Then again he wouldn't put it past Kyoya-Sempai…

"Hikaru!" He heard a familiar shout, his friend's voice full of uncharacteristic worry as his charged into the room.

Tamaki Suoh was at his bedside in an instant, his violet eyes clearly trying to take in the scene before him. "Are you okay?"

"Hi boss," the oldest twin answered cautiously, glancing over his head at the other hosts who stood behind him. "What…what are you all doing here?"

"'_What are we all doing here?'_" Tamaki repeated incredulously. "We came down as soon as we heard that you were in the hospital! And why wouldn't we?"

To this, Hikaru had no answer. Maybe it was because of the concussion, but he hadn't really expected the boss and the other hosts to care so much.

Was this what Kaoru meant when he said that Hikaru didn't understand other people and their emotions?

"Hika-chan," Hani said quietly, interrupting his chain of thought. "Where is Kao-chan? And what happened? We haven't been told anything…"

There was a pause and Hikaru's brow furrowed. "Wait you haven't-," he started, but was interrupted by Kyoya-Sempai raising his hand.

"The hospital staff are under strict instructions to give no information regarding your condition to anyone other than immediate family." He explained in his usual informative tone. "In fact, we weren't even permitted to see you until you had either woken up and allowed us in, or one of your family gave us entry."

"Okay…" Hikaru said, Kyoya-Sempai's explanation answering part of his question. "But didn't you talk to my mother? Didn't she explain?"

"Yes and no," Haruhi answered stepping forward slightly. "We saw her briefly but a doctor dragged her away before could say anything so…" She trailed off and the hosts looked at Hikaru expectantly.

Not being able to bear meeting their gazes without losing it again, Hikaru took a deep breath and stared down at the bed, his brain trying to find a way to tell them the truth without hurting them. But there was no way. No matter how he put it, it wouldn't soften the blow to their hearts or to his. Saying it out loud would only make it feel more real, he reasoned. He wasn't sure if he could do it.

"Hikaru," he heard the King say, his pleading tone which he only reserved for desperate situations evident in his voice, "I can't imagine what this must be like for you, but we just spent four hours in a hospital waiting room worrying about you two. No matter how bad it is, we need to know. Please-"

"As far as I know, some idiot was blearing music too loudly and speeding while he was going down our street," Hikaru started immediately after the boss had stopped talking before he changed his mind. He felt his good fist clench and his teeth grind against each other at the thought of this horrible man that he didn't even know.

"The moron didn't see either of us as we stepped out onto the road. I should have looked before crossing but I didn't…and Kaoru did. He pushed me out of the way." He finished, clearly choking on his twin's name, but the hatred in his voice towards the speeding man and himself was still clearly still evident in his tone.

The host club was silent, waiting for him to continue. Hikaru tried to focus on breathing deeply to keep from having a panic attack.

"Concussion, broken arm in three places, two fractured ribs," he managed to list, pointing to each part in turn. But although he knew his friends were interested in and concerned about what ailed him, Hikaru knew that they were waiting anxiously for news on his twin.

"And Kaoru?" Tamaki-Sempai prompted, once the silence had stretched on for far too long.

Hikaru squeezed his eyes shut so hard that his head ached even further.

"Broken ribs, some internal bleeding, broken collarbone and…" He couldn't do it. Picturing Kaoru like that was more than he could bear. He wouldn't face the truth.

"And…" But he had to; Kaoru wasn't there to do it for him, and his friends…no his _family_ deserved to know. "And he took a blow to the head," he was able to finally gasp out, his eyes opening to look up at them, no longer masking the agony.

"Kaoru is in a coma, and we've been told not to expect him to wake up."

* * *

**A/N: Review please? I'll post more soon. I'm trying to go for once a week once the pre-typed chapters are up**

**-Bell**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hey everyone!**

**Just thought that I'd say thanks so much for all of the reviews/favs/follows and support you've been giving me! I really appreciate it more than you guys know, so thanks sooooo much for the feedback :) It feels good to be back on fanfiction.**

**Now, as for the this chapter, it was a _lot _of fun to write. It might be because the Hitachiin brothers themselves are a lot of fun because of the way they view things in such a mischievous way and because of their relationship itself...and I really got to explore both of those in this chapter.**

**Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy it.**

* * *

The silence that fell over the Host Club felt almost painful to Hikaru, as if each of his friend's stares were like knives digging into his heart over and over.

"Hikaru…" Tamaki-Sempai began, but Hikaru could already feel his emotions starting to boil over; he didn't like the looks of sympathy that they were giving him. Haruhi's was the worst. It was like she was afraid to say anything in fear of how he'd react.

"I'm fine, ok?" He shouted, his eyes sparking with anger, shutting away any hints of grief. "Just stop looking at me like that and leave already!"

"But Hika-chan," Hani-Sempai whimpered, tears filling his eyes.

"It doesn't matter. Why do you guys care so much anyway? Just get out of here-"

Hikaru's sentence was cut off as something small and warm ploughed into his chest and wrapped him in a tight hug. He felt his mouth fall open and his eyes widen.

"Haruhi…"

"We care, Hikaru," she murmured, her voice thick from tears that he could feel falling onto his back. "We care…because we're your friends. And we were so scared that something terrible had happened to you."

The whole room seemed to pause in stunned silence as Hikaru groped desperately for something, anything, to say. "I'm sorry we scared you, Haruhi," he finally whispered, but he was also looking at the other hosts as he said it. "I'm so sorry."

Haruhi pulled away from him, sitting next to him on the bed and wiping her eyes.

"Don't be sorry," Tamaki-Sempai told him, taking a seat on his other side and placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "I can't promise you that everything's going to be ok, but we're all here for both you and Kaoru. It's going to take more than this to separate the Host club!" He added, trying to be optimistic.

"Tama-chan's right Hika-chan!" Hani-Sempai said, throwing himself into Hikaru's arms, hugging him good naturedly before plopping himself into one of the guest chairs next to the bed.

"Yeah," Mori-Sempai agreed, and Kyoya-Sempai nodded, a small smile on his lips as they all crowded around Hikaru.

For the next hour, the group of friends talked quietly amongst themselves, and it was obvious to Hikaru that they carefully stepped around the topic of Kaoru while, at the same time, tried to lift his spirits. And, although he wasn't able to show it, he was extremely thankful for that.

Eventually though, a nurse came in and told the Host Club that visiting hours were over and that it was time for them to leave. It was then that they said their goodbyes and promised that they would definitely come by tomorrow to check up on him and Kaoru again.

Despite everything that was going on and the grief that Hikaru could barely handle, somehow his friend's reassuring words and presence lifted a huge weight off his shoulders. They gave him hope that things could turn out ok.

If only Kaoru was there to reaffirm it.

* * *

It was really late, but Hikaru couldn't sleep. He'd spent a few long hours tossing and turning, only to finally give up, lying on his back with his plastered arm pressed protectively to his chest and his eyes burning holes in the ceiling. He knew that Kaoru was in the same room as him, his bed only a few paces away, but he couldn't bring himself to look at him again without breaking down. He thought that being in the same room as his twin was supposed to calm him and make things better, if only slightly. But, in reality, although Kaoru was there with him physically, mentally he was far away in a place that Hikaru couldn't get to. And that frustrated him more than anything.

Hikaru sighed and felt his good arm stretch out under the covers, his fingers tracing along the sheets as if looking for something, but all they found was an empty, cold space. Shivering, he pulled his arm back and pushed himself shakily into a sitting position, carefully avoiding looking to his right at Kaoru. He then leaned forward, his hand clutching at his hair so tight that it hurt, the pain helping him to focus.

"Remember, Kaoru?" He whispered, pretending that his brother was sitting next to him, instead of unconscious on the other side of the room. "Remember what happened when I couldn't sleep that one time…?"

* * *

**_5 years earlier_**

"_Hikaru!" ten year old Kaoru finally snapped, sitting up straight in their bed and glaring at his brother. "If you're going to keep tossing and turning like that, you can sleep on the floor."_

_Hikaru sighed, pushing himself sluggishly upright and resting his arms on his knees, his head dropping. "I'm sorry Kaoru," Hikaru murmured with exhaustion "I just can't sleep."_

_Kaoru smiled sadly leaning into his brother's shoulder. "Why not?"_

"_I dunno. I just can't," Hikaru whined dropping his head into his hands._

"_Well I can stay up with you until you fall asleep if you want," Kaoru said comfortingly stifling a yawn._

_Hikaru smiled at his brother, but it contained a hint of evilness that would so often get the two of them into trouble._

"_Nah, I'm probably just gonna go and get a midnight snack,' Hikaru replied offhandedly swinging his legs over the side of the bed and getting to his feet._

"_Or even better," Kaoru mused, his tone becoming mischievous. "We can go night exploring. You know, like we used to."_

_Hikaru grinned. What could be a better way to spend a sleepless night than roaming the house with his brother and seeing what they could find? "Well let's go then!"_

_The two boys hurried down the darkened hallway, their socked feet treading carefully to avoid making any sound. Not that they needed to worry, everyone in the house was definitely asleep, and if they weren't, the chances of the boys walking past their room were slim to none because of the sheer amount of rooms._

"_So what do you want to do, Kaoru?" Hikaru whispered as they walked, a sly grin directed over his shoulder at his brother._

"_Well, there's mom's new clothing line that she's left unguarded in her room," Kaoru replied deviously._

_Hikaru snickered. "You interested in trying on another one of mom's dresses?"_

"_If there's one for me there's almost certainly a matching one for you, Hikaru," Kaoru shot back good naturedly and Hikaru held back his laughter. "But alright. How about we just settle for raiding the kitchen instead?"_

_Hikaru felt his smile morph quickly into a frown. "I was only kidding about the midnight snack. Ever since the maids caught us last time they've been keeping a proper eye on the kitchen, remember?"_

"_But it's three am," Kaoru whined, biting his lip as the floor creaked loudly beneath his feet. "There's no way that they could be watching it at this hour. Besides, the last time we tried it was only ten o'clock and they were still awake."_

_Hikaru looked over at Kaoru again and gave him a meaningful look, knowing full well that he didn't need to say anything for his brother to know what he was thinking. Kaoru smirked and nodded, sticking close to his brother as the two began to descend the grand staircase which led into the main foyer of the house. Once they were at the bottom, the two hurried in the direction of the kitchen, their socks sliding on the slippery floor as they went, making them giggle._

"_You know…" Hikaru started, pausing in his sliding to look over at Kaoru who was smiling gleefully at him, clearly already knowing what he was thinking._

"…_this is probably more fun than just stealing food from the kitchen," the two said together, before taking off at a running start and then gliding rather ungracefully across the polished floor, their feet sprawling everywhere. Hikaru tried to hold in his laughter to no avail as he almost lost his balance ending up gripping his brother's shoulders to steady himself and making Kaoru wobble as well._

"_Shh," Kaoru said, although it wasn't very convincing because he was trying to keep his own overpowering giggles quiet. "You're going to get us caught."_

"_Me? You're just as bad!" Hikaru responded, still gripping his brother for balance._

"_True," Kaoru murmured, trying to keep his voice low now, as he removed Hikaru's clutching hands from his small shoulders. "But I'm also better at this than you!"_

_Kaoru suddenly took off again, running even faster than he had been before, until he felt his speed reach its peak. He then spread his legs and took off sliding across the floor extremely fast, too fast for him to keep his balance. With an echoing '_thud' _Kaoru hit the ground, the momentum he had gained making him slide slightly across the floor on his back._

"_Kaoru!" Hikaru shouted, no longer caring if he woke anyone up. He bolted across the slippery floor as fast as he could without falling over as well, and dropped to his knees beside his brother. "Kaoru…Are you ok?"_

_His lip trembled as he reached out to touch Kaoru's shoulder, when Kaoru started to make a weird noise that made Hikaru's heart miss a beat. But as sound the sound grew, Hikaru closed his eyes and let out a breath; his brother was laughing._

"_Kaoru, don't do that! You almost gave me a heart attack!" Hikaru exclaimed, making his brother immediately stop guffawing, his golden eyes becoming wide._

"_I'm sorry, Hikaru, but I'm ok, really!" He told his brother enthusiastically, easily getting to his feet for emphasis and offering a hand to his brother, which he took. "That was so much fun!"_

"_Yeah, yeah," Hikaru murmured, no longer seeing the fun side to their game as his brother obviously still did. Not to mention he was suddenly all too aware that he'd been extremely loud and probably woke up at least _someone _in the house. "But this is kinda boring. Can we go to the kitchen now?"_

_Kaoru smiled, his eyes gleaming with a devilishness Hikaru knew all too well. "Of course."_

_Realising that he was shaking, Hikaru grabbed his brother's hand tightly in his and began leading him to the kitchen, pretending that he didn't notice the concerned look in Kaoru's expression._

_Once outside the kitchen, the two brothers pressed themselves hard against the wall with the door on their left. Still clutching Hikaru's hand in his left, Kaoru, who was the closest, used his right hand to nudge open the door and sneak a peak inside._

"_Is anyone in there?" Hikaru whispered, his sharp catlike eyes glancing around while he was listening carefully for anyone who may be trying to sneak up on them._

"_Not that I can see."_

_Moving as one, as if making an unspoken decision, the twins gently swung the door open, its creaking sound echoing much too loudly for their liking, before they tiptoed carefully into the large space._

"_So Kaoru," Hikaru asked his brother as they made their way over to the cupboard where all the sweets were kept. "What are you in the mood for?"_

"_I don't know, Hikaru," his brother replied, staring up at the cupboard with a smile that might have outshone the Cheshire cat's._

"_How about as many as we can get our hands on?" the two said in unison, and Hikaru reluctantly dropped Kaoru's hand in order to grab one of the many chairs that was facing the counter and placing it under the cupboard…_

* * *

"I don't really remember what happened after that," Hikaru murmured, his lips curling into a smile that felt unnatural considering the situation. "I think it might be because we were _so _sick after clearing out nearly half of that cupboard that all I _can _remember is feeling like crap at the end. Wasn't it you who threw up first though? You did have the weaker stomach after all."

Completely forgetting where he was, and what was really happening, Hikaru made the mistake of looking to the right, expecting to see his brother sitting next to him, ready with a comeback at his brother's comment. Instead, what he saw was Kaoru lying in the hospital bed, unmoving except for the slight rise and fall motion of his chest.

Hikaru's own chest tightened as he gasped and closed his eyes tight, breathing heavily. How had he gotten so caught up in that memory that he'd forgotten about what had happened to his brother?

Swallowing hard, Hikaru gathered up at much courage as he could muster before opening his eyes once more and taking in the scene again, trying to calm himself down.

"What am I doing?" He whispered, his voice cracking slightly, the unshed tears burning the back of his throat. "It's just Kaoru."

Pulling back the sheets with his good hand, he slipped out of bed and made his way over quietly to his brother, careful not to wake his parents who were sleeping in spare beds on the other side of the room.

Slowly, he eased himself into the chair, all too aware of the aching pain in his ribs when he moved. He carefully took his brother's warm hand in his, clutching as tight as he had that night five years ago.

"I hope you were listening, little brother," Hikaru murmured, a tear sliding down his cheek. "Because I have many more memories to share with you."

* * *

**A/N: You know I've always wanted a huge foyer to slide around in wearing my socks...I bet that I'd be great at it, haha. Definitely better than Kaoru**

**Anyway, I hope you guys liked it as much as I liked writing it! Expect more brotherly moments between them from here on because this is where the story really begins.**

**Reviews please? Care to brighten my day? :)**

**-Bell**


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